You will not use the computer for three days

The following is an excerpt from an article by Rabbi Michael M. Cohen titled And God Commanded, You Will Not Use the Computer One Day a Week. .
Our challenge is not to do away with all these gadgets, but to find the proper balance of when to use them and when not to use them. Anticipating the need for this balance, long before IBM, Apple and Dell, Moses taught us in the Bible about a rhythm that was not to the beat of 24/7, but rather 24/6. That is to say Moses taught us about Shabbat (the Sabbath). In the Book of Exodus (20:8) we read, "Remember the Sabbath day, to hallow it. For six days, you are to serve, and are to make all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath for the Lord your God: you are not to make any kind of work." It all seems straight forward -- we work six days and don't work on the seventh day. The problem is the Bible does not define what work is. That was left to the rabbis of the Talmud.
...One of the 39 major categories the rabbis defined as work was the lighting of fire. With the advent of the use of electricity in the 19th century the rabbis expanded the definition of fire to include anything using electricity. During the 20th century the use of telephones, televisions, cars, radios and computers were added to the prohibition of the use of fire on Shabbat.
As we find ourselves at the beginning of the 21st century where the pace we are expected to live our lives is dictated more and more by the gadgets we are forced to use, the message of Moses not to work on the Sabbath, as defined by the Rabbis of the Talmud, is something that we should all take more seriously. We all need one day a week that we can call our Sabbath.
Read full article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-michael-cohen/no-computer-on-shabbat_b_950298.html

This coming week will have Orthodox bloggers refraining from the use of their computers for three full days, starting with Rosh Hashanah on Wednesday evening and culminating with the Jewish Sabbath. May we use that time to indulge in what really is important - connecting to G-d, families and friends.